


The Road We've Traveled

by donniedont



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Aunts & Uncles, Beach House, Conversations, Established Relationship, F/F, M/M, Road Trips, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:40:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24953947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/donniedont/pseuds/donniedont
Summary: Dorothea and Edelgard finally find time to have an important conversation on a beach vacation.  Featured in Rest Day Zine.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Dedue Molinaro, Dorothea Arnault/Edelgard von Hresvelg
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	The Road We've Traveled

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so excited to finally post this fic! This was one of my fics that was featured in the Rest Day zine. It was an AMAZING project and I am so happy that it gave me the opportunity to finally write edelthea. Thank you to all the contributors who cheered me on while I wrote this and specifically to Purple for editing it.
> 
> Also, thank you so much to Joey for letting me use our girl Daphne in this fic. I never thought I would be the person with a fankid and wrote kidfics, but... I guess I am now.

Dorothea leaned against the window, hissing when she felt the heat of the glass on the back of her arms. She grumbled to herself, turning to make sure that her overdramatics didn’t distract Edelgard from her driving.

Edelgard briefly turned her head toward Dorothea, quickly turning to focus on the road again. “Are you all right?” she asked.

Dorothea nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine!” she exclaimed, “I just forgot how much the window heats up.”

Edelgard tilted her chin toward Dorothea, her eyes still focused on the road. “If you’re certain,” she replied.

Dorothea smiled. She lightly touched the back of her arm again. Outside of some mild irritation, it felt like she was going to be fine. She checked Edelgard’s phone, which was on a dock attached to the air conditioning vent. “Oh, we’re about two hours out,” she noted.

“As long as traffic doesn’t come up,” Edelgard murmured. 

“It better not,” Dorothea said. The premise of renting a beach house up north seemed a bit ridiculous on paper. Edelgard was terrified of the ocean and rarely went beyond dipping her toes in it and Dorothea just didn’t go to it often enough growing up to know how she truly felt about it. But when Edelgard’s stepbrother suggested it, all their mutual friends nearly stumbled over each other to get in on the plans, splitting the cost to rent a house on a rustic island for two weeks.

Dorothea lowered her foot, feeling that she was stepping on something. When she looked down, she saw that there was a lunchbox underneath it.

“We still haven’t had lunch!” she exclaimed. 

“Oh no, you worked so hard preparing it…” Edelgard said, “Can you help me keep an eye for the next rest stop?”

“Of course, Edie,” Dorothea replied. She tilted herself toward the window again, making sure that she didn’t lean against the glass itself. They were caught up in a long stretch of highway with the view of trees and signage taking up the entirety of her line of sight. She eventually spotted a sign that stated they were two miles away from the next rest stop. Edelgard took the exit, Dorothea scoping out picnic tables on the side of the building and nearly racing toward it once Edelgard parked. 

Edelgard decided to go to the bathroom as Dorothea set up the containers of fresh fruit and sandwiches she made earlier in the day. She sat down, fishing her phone out of her pocket and checking for messages. The group chat for everyone who was going to be at the house was active, mostly with estimated times of arrival. The last message of the chat was a photo posted by Edelgard’s stepbrother, Dimitri, featuring his husband, Dedue, and their daughter along the beach. Outside of Dedue’s towering stature, they looked so similar, silver hair being whipped in both their faces with awkward half smiles on their lips. 

“What are you looking at?” Edelgard asked as she sat down next to Dorothea.

Dorothea realized that she had unintentionally brought her hand to her chest in reaction to the photo. She smiled and said, “Check the group chat,” before she washed her hands with some sanitizer attached to the lunchbag.

Edelgard nodded, grabbing her phone. She pouted as she stared at the photo, zooming in on her niece’s face. “She’s getting  _ so big _ …” she whispered.

“Duey said she’s in the one of the top most percentiles for her height,” Dorothea bragged, “Though I suppose that makes sense when your parents are giants.” She leaned her head against Edelgard’s shoulder, glancing at the photo on her phone and smirking. 

“I have to make sure I enjoy this vacation. She’ll probably tower over me by the end of it,” Edelgard said, sighing as she rested her head on top of Dorothea’s. “You remembered to pack the books we got her, yes?”

“Of course!” Dorothea exclaimed, “What kind of aunts would we be if we didn’t spoil our niece rotten?”

Edelgard laughed, lifting her head before she grabbed a strawberry and began to take careful bites of it. “Oh, I should respond,” she said, putting the top of the berry down before she grabbed her phone, sending a message.

Dorothea lifted her phone to look at the message and smiled. Edelgard had said,  _ Can’t wait to see you all in two hours! Tell Daphne she looks absolutely radiant. _

Dorothea lowered her phone, watching Edelgard eat another strawberry. There was so much that she loved about her, specifically her passion. Everything Edelgard did was ignited with determination that was typically credited to her hard work as a lawyer. Dorothea far preferred seeing it in their shared, domestic space. It was that determination that allowed Dorothea to be able to attend every function, allowing her to form close bonds with each family member. It was also Edelgard who spent nearly an hour in their local bookstore before they left, debating whether or not the books they were selecting for Daphne were empowering enough.

Edelgard turned to Dorothea and said, “Thank you so much for making us lunch.” She kissed Dorothea on the lips, tasting like berries.

Dorothea leaned in for a second kiss, unable to resist a light lick against Edelgard’s lips before saying, “You’re welcome,” and taking a bite out of her sandwich.

They continued to eat in silence, slowly scooting closer and closer to each other until their shoulders bumped into each other. Dorothea finished her sandwich, popping blueberries in her mouth as she checked social media. Summertime meant that it was wedding season with at least two taking place that weekend. Dorothea didn’t dislike attending weddings, but she was grateful that they were going to be able to enjoy their vacation without having to fit a wedding reception during it.

“We should get back on the road,” Edelgard suggested, carefully closing the containers and stacking them in the lunchbox.

“Yeah, let’s get going,” Dorothea said. She put her phone in her pocket and followed Edelgard back in the car. They both complained about the hot leather against the back of their legs, but were on their way quickly enough, the air conditioning cranked up even higher than it was before.

Dorothea grabbed her phone again, unable to resist throwing herself into a social media loop of going through every possible post, refreshing the page, and combing whatever posts were added. She still didn’t entirely know if she wanted to get married. It felt like something that she should have known by now. Her Wikipedia page said that she was twenty-seven, but in actuality she had recently arrived to her thirties with no sense of clarity on the subject. 

It didn’t help that Edelgard never spoke in hypotheticals that indicated she knew, either. Any of their friends that were remotely interested in the concept would speak in hypotheticals of “when we get married,” but Edelgard never suggested it.

Dorothea slipped her phone under her thigh, rubbing at her temples. She wondered if this reaction meant that she would be happy getting married, as long as Edelgard wanted to. She felt her chest flutter and she froze, relieved when the sensation faded. 

She focused on the road ahead, the monotony causing her to close her eyes. She woke up when Edelgard turned onto a narrow county roll.

“Seagulls!” Dorothea exclaimed, still trying to wake up.

“Yes, we’re close,” Edelgard replied.

The view made the last half hour of the trip melt away quickly. The region was broken up into tiny islands, allowing them to go over several bridges and look out toward the water. Once they crossed to an island they were greeted to breakfast nooks, bait and tackle shops, and seafood restaurants, the two of them chatting excitedly about the grand plans they had even if they both knew that they would most likely only get to half of them.

They arrived at the island the house was on and Dorothea found herself shifting uncontrollably in her seat. The moment Edelgard parked, Dorothea nearly rolled out of the car, popping open the trunk and grabbing her luggage. Edelgard joined her, taking the luggage from Dorothea and propping it on the ground.

A door opened and Dorothea looked up, grinning when she saw her niece rushing over to them. She slipped away from the car, opening up her arms and catching her in a hug. “Hi, Aunt Dorothea!” she exclaimed, wiggling excitedly.

“Hi, Daph, where’s your parents?” she asked. She looked up and saw them standing at the doorway, waving before they continued to make their way to the car.

“Auntie El!” she exclaimed, slipping out of Dorothea’s arms to bring her arms around Edelgard. Edelgard grinned and hugged her tightly, punctuating the embrace with a dramatic groan. 

“How are you doing, Daphne? Are you excited to be on vacation?” Edelgard asked.

Daphne nodded her head excitedly. “Can I help?” she asked.

Dorothea opened the side door, grabbing the gift bag that was set behind her seat. “Here, Daph, it’s for you!”

Daphne gasped, lunging at the bag and hugging it tightly. Daphne’s parents finally caught up to her and she turned around, excitedly show it off to them.

“I see, I see!” Dimitri exclaimed, “We can open it up once we get everything inside, all right?”

“Should we start grabbing all the bags?” Dedue asked.

“If you could,” Dorothea said, grinning. “Thank you, Duey!”

Dedue grabbed what seemed to be nearly every bag they had, Dimitri taking the last few. They all made their way inside, Dimitri giving vague instructions where everything could go.

Dorothea couldn’t help but stop short once she stepped inside, overwhelmed by the decor. The place was a typical, cozy beach house embellished with novelty lobsters across every possible surface. Plastic lobsters in a catcher were nailed to the wall and coasters in the same of lobster claws were spread out across the coffee table.

“This place is quite…” Edelgard started.

“Isn’t it so cool?!” Daphne exclaimed. She ran one of the shelves and excitedly placed her finger on top of a lobster bobble head. She giggled as if it was peak comedy.

Edelgard struggled to shift her face from incredulous to warm, but she got there, smiling before she nodded her head. “It’s  _ very _ cool. You’re absolutely right, Daphne.” She turned to Dedue and Dimitri and asked, “Where are we sleeping?”

“Bedroom are upstairs,” Dedue replied, “You’re the second group here, so most of the rooms are unclaimed.”

Dorothea and Edelgard turned to each other and rushed up the stairs, Edelgard unintentionally blocking Dorothea as they made their way up the corridor. They stopped once they made it up the room, laughing at themselves.

“We already took the biggest room,” Dimitri said, standing at the bottom of the staircase. “We have to share the room with Daphne, so I figured we were entitled to it.”

“Did you leave early to make sure you got the best room?!” Edelgard asked.

“El, do you know how early a six year old wakes up the day her vacation starts?” he retorted.

Edelgard rolled her eyes dramatically before she opened up one of the rooms and poked her head in.

Dorothea giggled, following behind her. Children was another part of the conversation that Edelgard and she never really had. Of all their friends it seemed that Dedue and Dimitri were the only ones who determined early that they wanted kids and had one. Everyone else was either still figuring out if their lives could fit a child in it or decided they were more than happy to be a part of Daphne’s army of aunts and uncles.

Dorothea knew she liked children. As much as she loved singing, she loved that it allowed her to have philanthropic opportunities, specifically when it came to supporting children. Even then, she wasn’t certain that she would want to go on vacation with Edelgard and have to worry about sharing a bedroom with a six year old.

Edelgard walked into another room, walking toward the window. “The view looks passable,” she noted. She turned around. “And there’s notably less lobsters in this room.”

Dorothea walked toward the vanity, picking up what appeared to be a crystal figure of a lobster. “It’s true, the only ones here are high fashion crustaceans.” She kept it in her hands when she said, “I think we can claim this one.”

“Agreed,” Edelgard said. She took her wallet out of her pocket and placed it on the bed. She ran down the stairs, bringing their luggage up before they joined everyone who was sitting in the living room, Daphne sitting in the middle of the largest couch with her giftbag crushed against her chest.

“She’s been waiting patiently,” Dedue explained. He sighed and said, “Daphne, how is your ponytail already messed up…” He shifted to the couch, fixing up her hair before he sat next to Dimitri again.

Dorothea and Edelgard sat on the opposite sides of Daphne, nodding their heads nearly simultaneously before she yanked tissue paper out of the bag and accidentally tossed it across their laps. She gasped, pulling out each book and showing it off to her parents before she clumsily put it back into the bag.

“Thank you so much!” Daphne exclaimed, kicking her feet against the couch excitedly. 

“You’re so welcome,” Edelgard said, pulling Daphne close and kissing the top of her head. Dorothea hugged them both, glancing up at Dedue and Dimitri. 

They appeared to both be fighting their eyes from closing. Dimitri yawned and said, “Oh, pardon me… thank you for the thoughtful gifts.”

“Want us to take Daphne for a walk?” Dorothea suggested, “You two can get a nap in before everyone else arrives.”

Dedue looked like he was about to yawn, as well, pressing his face against Dimitri’s shoulder to cover it up. “Only if you’re certain… we don’t want to make you two be glorified babysitters the next two weeks.”

“Consider this our only offer,” Edelgard said. Dorothea wanted to point out that she was certainly fibbling, but she resisted, preferring to focus on getting up to locate Edelgard and her sandals. After applying sunscreen, the three of them walked toward the beach, Daphne bounding ahead.

Dorothea slipped her hand with Edelgard’s, taking a deep breath of the salty air. The beach was much rockier than the beaches back home, but it had its charm. Islands doted their view, complete with trees and small boats rushing past.

“I’m going to look for shells!” Daphne announced.

“You can only go up to your ankles,” Edelgard instructed. Daphne nodded, rushing toward the ocean and stopping short dramatically when she made it to the water’s edge.

“Are you ready to go in yet?” Dorothea asked.

Edelgard shook her head. “I just need some time, if that’s all right with you,” she murmured.

“Of course!” Dorothea said, pushing a lock of Edelgard’s hair back. She smiled, kissing Edelgard before she said, “We’re only doing what we want this vacation.”

Daphne sprinted toward them, a shell in her hands.

“Be careful,” Edelgard said, catching Daphne and holding her by her shoulders.

“Look at what I found!” Daphne exclaimed. She showed them a perfect scallop shell that was a light pink color. 

“Oh, it’s  _ beautiful _ ,” Dorothea marveled.

“Here,” Daphne said, pushing it into her hand.

“Are you sure?” Dorothea asked.

Daphne nodded her head. “I’m going to try to find one for Auntie El,” she declared, charging back toward the waterline.

“I don’t know how Dedue and Dimitri do it,” Edelgard murmured, “She seems to be constantly full of energy…”

“Would you want kids?” Dorothea asked. She was shocked that it came out so simple after years of never bothering to be direct. 

Edelgard hugged her sides. “I think I prefer being able to turn them in at the end of the day.” She turned to Dorothea. “How do you feel? I don’t think I’ve ever thought to ask…”

“I think I like being an aunt myself,” Dorothea replied. She sat down, bringing her knees under her chin. Edelgard joined her, leaning against her. 

“You think we can get Dima and Duey to have another kid?” Dorothea asked, “I have no idea when anybody else would.”

“Let’s see if we can convince them sometime this vacation,” Edelgard joked, her tone sounding entirely serious. “But… I think I would prefer to not have to slow down, because I have a child.”

Dorothea watched Daphne pick up a shell, scrunch up her nose, and tossed it back. She giggled, reminding Daphne to be gentle before she said, “I agree. I just…” She tilted her head down, pressing her lips together.

“Yes?” Edelgard asked. She lifted her head up and brought her hand against Dorothea’s chin.

“I was just thinking about thinking about our future.” Dorothea watched Edelgard’s face fall the slightest bit and she gasped, shaking her head. “Not in a bad way! I just… realized we seemed to have avoided talking about certain things for awhile.”

Edelgard tilted her head, clearly biting the inside of her lip. Dorothea rattle off flattery and flirtation, but it didn’t work with Edelgard. Not anymore.

“Do you have any interest in getting married?” Dorothea asked.

Edelgard opened her mouth, always thinking on her feet. Dorothea shook her head, adding, “Don’t ask what I want first. Just… answer the question first.”

Edelgard slotted her fingers with Dorothea’s, gripping them tightly. “I suppose I haven’t allowed myself to think about it much,” she admitted, “I… I never saw myself as a romantic in that sense.”

“What do you mean?” Dorothea asked.

Edelgard shrugged. “I grew up with Dimitri, remember? He always had his goals clear concerning having a family. I focused on having a career. The fact that I somehow was able to find someone who understood that… it always felt like that was supposed to be enough.”

Dorothea pulled herself away from Edelgard’s stare to spot Daphne, who was still looking through shells. She turned to Edelgard again and said, “Supposed to be.”

“Yes,” Edelgard said. She cleared her throat and said, “In many ways… this is enough. I’m happy, Dorothea. I love… picking out presents for Daphne with you… taking seven hour drives with you… doing anything and everything with you. And if this is all you ever wanted, then I would be content to have this. But… it would be nice to have a ring on my finger throughout these moments.”

Dorothea lifted their hands, unable to contain the grin on her face. She brought Edelgard’s hand to her lips, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand before she said, “I think we can arrange that.”

“We should negotiate this,” Edelgard started.

“And we will,” Dorothea reassured her, “But for now, let’s enjoy being engaged to be engaged.”

Edelgard grinned, kissing Dorothea again, breaking the kiss when they saw a blur of six year old hurtling toward them.

“I found another one!” Daphne announced.

“I’m sure it’s perfect,” Edelgard said, squeezing Dorothea’s hand. Dorothea nodded her head in agreement.


End file.
